Tire-case.



G. A. RUSSELL.

TIRE CASE.

APPLICATION FILED APE. 14, 1909. 959,391 Patented May 24, 1910.

| l/VVENIOI? Charles 1?. Passe? Z.

ATTORNEYS ore.

CHARLES A. RUSSELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TIRE-CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 24, 1919.

Application filed April 14, mos. Serial no. 429,311.

Io alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OnAnLns A. RUSSELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Tire-Case, of which the following is'a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to tire cases or covers such as used for enveloping automobile tires, or the tires of similar vehicles so that they will be protected from the weather. Such covers are used especially on extra or spare tires which are carried usually in an exposed position somewhere aboutthe body of the vehicle.

The object of the invention is to produce a tire case of this class which will be devoid of metal parts in its inner construction, but which will have a form which will enable it to be readily placed in position upon the tire, and so that it will fit neatly to the curvature of the tire which it envelops.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be described more fully hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawin s forming a part of this specification, in w ich similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tire case constructed according to my invention and containing a spare tire; Fig. 2 is a plan of the the case showing an outside folding flap or fastening flap in perspective. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the flap fastened; Fig. 4. is a plan of the inner lap of one of the outer strips and showing its folding flap in erspective; Fig. 5 is a cross section taken t rough the tire and showing the case in the act of. being applied thereto; Fig. 6 is a view'similar to Fig. 5 but showing the case applied and secured in position so as to form a complete envelope for the tire; and Fig. 7 is a detail plan showing a portion of one edge and showing a gore seam which gives a desired orim or construction to the free edge of the sai strip.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and especially to Fig. 5, the tire case is formed of an inner web strip 1 which is in the form of a ring fitting against the inner face of the tire 3. This web 1 is made of an endless piece so that the web strip forms a circle or ring fitting the inner diameter of the tire, as shown. To the edges of this web strip, endless annular side strips 5 and 6 are attached, as shown. The side strip 5 has attached thereto a strip 7, and the free edge 8 of this strip is provided with gore scams 9, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 7. They are formed by removing a small triangular piece and bringing the edges together to fill the gap so formed. These gore seams have the e ect of producing a slight crimp or constriction in the edges of the strips in which they are applied, and at a suitable point this edge is provided with a slit or opening 10. At this point a flap 11 is provlded, formed by thecoverlap lng outside edge, and this flap is provide with a fastener socket 12 which is adapted to engage a contractible fastener button 13 which is on the inner lap. This socket and button constitute a releasable clasp.

To the edge of the side strip 6 which is remote from the web strip 1, an outer strip 14: is attached, and this outer strip is composed of a crown strip 15 which is attached directly to the side strip 6; to the other edge of the crown strip a keeper strip or keeper 16 is attached.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the ends of the outer strip are secured together so as to form a flap 18 of a double thickness of material. This flap gives an abundance of material in the outer strip and increases the facility with which it is brought into position when the case is being placed upon the tire. When this is done the flap 18 will fit neatly down upon the outer strip, as indicated in Fig. 3. In order to hold it in this position, I employ a clasp 19 which is attached near the free edge of the outer strip, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This fastener simply presents a tongue 20 having a bight or how 21 at its root, at which point it is attached by means of a pivot pin 22. When unt'astened, the tongue 20 will project out from the case and substantially at right angles to the plane of the strip. In the adjacent part of the flap 18 I provide a plurality of e elets 23, any one'of which may be engaged y the tongue, as indicated. In this way the flap 18 will fold down neatly upon the outer strip and as the tension device brings it into position, the slack existing in the flap 18 and in the outer strip is ta en up. In order to make the free edge of the outer strip 14 of such construction so as to fit the curvature of the tire is builtup of sect-ions cut on a curve.

This will make the free edge tend to assume I a smaller diameter than the body of'the strip.

In applying the case to a tire, the fastener socket 12 of the edge 7 is released from the button 13 and this edge is then slipped over the tread of the tire from the right-hand side, as viewed in Fig. 5. The fastening device 12 and 13 is then closed, thereby holding the edge 7 in position on the tire. The case is applied to the tire by wra ping it laterally upon the tire. The other e ge strip and the side strip 6 of the case are passed through the central opening of the tire so as to ring the side strlp 5 into position and so as to bring the Web strip 1 into the central opening of the tire.. The fastening device 19 on the edge strip 16 bein released, said ed e stri 16 is then pulle over the tread of the tire so as to overlie the other edge strip 7. After the edge strip 16 has been brought into osition in this manner the flap 18 is broug t into position and secured to the fastening 19, as described above.

It should be understood that when the body of the case is passed through the central opening-of the tire it can be pulled tightly so that the side strip 5 will be stretched tight on the side of the tire. In this connection it should be understood that the crimped or constricted edge 8 of the strip 7 is of suficiently small diameter to prevent its passing over the greater diameter of the tire at the tread. When the tire case has been placed in position it will be noted that the crimped or constricted edge 9 lies on one side of the central plane of the tire, while the edge strip 16 lies on the other side of the central lane of the tire. Inasmuch as the edge strip 16 must have some tension ex erted upon it in brin ing it into position, it should be understood that when it is secured it will'hold itself in position so that all the strips of the tire case are stretched nicely and maintained in this condition.

A tire case constructed as described fits very neatly to the tire and can be readily applied in position. It does not embody in its construction tension rings orsimilar devices which have heretofore beenused in the seams of tire cams. As these tire cases are exposed to the weather, this is an advantageous feature of the invention.

The fullness of material or double flap 18,

together with its fastening device, constitutes a cast-off or outlet for increasing the diameter of the tire case at the edge where it is located. Similarly the slit 10 together with its fastening device may be considered as a cast-oil or outlet for increasing the diameter of the opposite edge of the tire case when passing the same over the greater diameter of the tire tread.

Havisg thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,---

1. A tire case composed of an endless inner web strip, endless side strips secured to the edges of said web strip, an outside stri secured to the outer edge of one of said si e strips, said outside strip having gore seams and a slit provided with a fastening device a crown strip secured to the outer edge of the other side strip, and a crimped strip secured to the outer edge of said crown strip, said crown strip and said crimped strip having a folding flap provided with a fastenin device.

2. g tire case having an endless inner web strip, endless side strips attached thereto, outside strips forming the edges of the case attached to the free edges of said side strips, one of said outside edges being formed and provided with means whereby when the edge of the case is in position on the tire it is securely held in osition, and the other edge being formed of a strip having gore seams and a slit, and a fastening device by means of which said edge of the case is held securely in position on the tire.

3. A tire case adapted to be wrapped laterally around the tire, comprising an outside edge strip adapted -t-o lie against the tire tread having a constricted diameter preventing said strip from passing over the greatest diameter of the tread, endless annular strips attached to said outside edge strip and adapted to cover the sides and the inner face of the tire, and a second outside edge strip lying on the tire tread over said first outside edge strip, the diameter of said case at said second outside edge strip being less than the diameter of the tire over the tread and. lying on the opposite side of the middle plane of the tire opposite to said first outside edge strip, said second outside edge strip having an outlet with overlap-- ping layers of material and a releasable clasp permittingsaid strip to pass over the great- J est diameter of said tire.

4. A tire case adapted to be wrapped. laterally around the tire, com rising an outside edge strip adapted to 1e against the tire tread having a constricted diameter preventin said strip from passing over the greatest iameter of the tread, endless annular strips attached to said outside edge strip and adapted to cover the sides and the inner face of the tire, and a second outside edge str1p lying on the tire tread over said first outside edge strip, the diameter of said case at said second outside edge strip being less than the diameter of the tire over the tread and lying on the opposite side of the middle plane of the tire opposite to said first outside edge strip, said second outside edge strip having an outlet with normally overlapping layers and a releasable clasp permittmg the same to pass over the greatest diameter of said tire, said first named name to this specification in the presence of olllitsige ed}g1e stiip also havirlilg an oiitlet in two subscribing Witnesses. t e e ge t ereo with norma y over apping layers and a releasable clasp ermitting said CHARLES RUSSELL 5 first-named outside stri to passed over Witnesses:

the greatest diameter 0 the tire. F. D. AMMEN,

In testimony whereof I have signed my PHILIP D. ROLLHAUS. 

